Rotary harrow.



UNITED STATES PATENT EEIc ROLAND RAKESTRAW, OF lVYOMING, ILLINOIS.

ROTARY HARROW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 689,515, dated December24, 1901. I Application filed November 8,1900. Serial No. 35 ,790. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROLAND RAKESTRAW,a citizen of the United States,residing at WVyoming, in the county of Stark and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary I-Iarrows; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, which will enable others skilled in theart to whichit appertains to makeand use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in rotary barrows, and has forits object to better this class of farm implements by providing a moresimple construction.

The further object is to provide an improved form of a central portionor union which receives the harrow-sections, as will be hereinafterdescribed.

Furthermore, an obj ectis to locate the teeth or spikes of the harrowmore upon the circular rim of the implement than upon the reaches orlimbs of the sections composing the harrow, the purpose of which will beexplained as the description proceeds.

Still another object of the invention is to attach to the harrow in apeculiar manner a rider or seat mounted on wheels for the use of theoperator.

Another object is to provide a peculiar form of harrow-section.

In the appended drawings, which form a part of this application, Figure1 is a plan View of the harrow. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a centerpiece or union which supports the harrow-sections. Fig. 3 is acrosssectional view of one of the limbs of the said union. Fig. 4 is aperspective view of a tooth and clamp amxed to a portion of the harrow.Fig. 5 is a plan view of the two barrows connected together and having arider for the use of the operator attached thereto. Fig. 6 is aperspective view of a connection between the harrow and the said rider.

The complete harrow is made up of sections composed of the beams A A,having their ends united at the center of the harrow and divergingtherefrom and attached at the divergent ends to a curved limb-section B,as shown in Fig. 1. These portions are preferably constructed ofangle-iron,and the curved rim-sec tions when placed together form acomplete circle. The ends of the sections are loosely connected by boltsor rivetsin any desired manner to form a pivoted joint. I prefer to dothis by lapping the ends and pivoting them by means of a bolt passedtherethrough, though of course other means may be employed. The innerends of the sections where united are held by means of a unionconsisting of a casting (shown in Fig. 2) whose center 0 is of solidmetal, the projecting limbs or arms D of which are U-shaped incross-section, as shown in Fig. 3. The united ends of the beams A areintroduced to the arms D and are loosely held therein by means of boltsE. The arms and the ends of the sections are drilled transversely, andthrough the holes thus drilled the said bolts E are passed, the latterbeing much smaller in diameter than the holes, whereby theharrow-sections may tip freely in all directions. Fig. 3 shows therelative size of the bolts and bores and also shows the lateral movementof the harrowsection.

The draft-rod F lies immediately above the center of the harrow and ispivotally connected therewith by means of a king-bolt G, being supportedby means of a stirrup or chair H. To the draft-rod is secured a frame I,carrying a roller J, adapted to rest upon the circle rim B. To thisportion, however, I lay no claim, as it is commonly used on rotaryharrows.

The teeth or spikes on the harrow I locate mostly upon the rim B andplace a very limited number of them upon the beams A of the sections. Infact, Imerely place sufficient of them upon the said beams to properlysupport the center of the harrow. It has been demonstrated that byplacing the teeth mostly upon the rim better results are obtained, forthe reason that they distribute the rubbish and green stalks morethoroughly and the draft on the horses is very much lighter. The Workdone in smoothing the land is also superior to that of other harrowswherein the teeth are distributed freely toward the center, and thisimproved setting of the teeth Iwish to claim as my own. Thetooth-fastening which I employ is clearly shown in Fig. 4, in which acasting K is secured to the beam,and a tongue L at one end is seated inthe groove of the said beam, which acts as a lock for said casting. Abolt M passes through both IOC beam and casting and clamps the tooth -orthe spike N, which is held within a notch O,

firmly against the said beam.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated two barrows connected by means of a bar P.A rider Q is connected with this rod and is intended for the use of theoperator. This idea is old; but my method of connecting the rider withthe harrow I believe to be new. An A-frame R is rigidly attached to thebar P and carries a beam S at its apex at right angles to said bar. Therider before mentioned consists of a suitable frame mounted on wheelsand carries a seat for the operator.. The beam Q of this rider ispivoted to the beam S of the harrow-frame substantially as shown in Fig.6, although I do not desire to confine myself to any particular methodof connecting these parts. Usually the rider is pivoted directly to thebeam P, and when the harrow makes a sharp turn the wheels thereofinterfere with therim thereof. To obviate this, I have provided theconstruction described.

It is understood that by making a looseconnection between theharrow-sections these parts will readily rise and fall with the unevensurface of the ground, and the pivoted connections between the sectionsare provided, so that there will be no interference with thesemovements.

I claim 1. In a harrow, the combination of a central support havingradial U-shaped arms, in combination with barrow-sections Whoseextremities rest within the said arms, and bolts passed through the armsand sections in a loose manner to permit the said sections to have freelateral movement as set forth.

2. In a harrow, a central support consisting of a series of U-shapedarms D having the solid center 0 to which the draft-bar is attached,harrow sections consisting of the beams A A secured together at theirinner ends and lying within the said arms D, a bolt E passing throughthe said arms and beams but permitting the barrow-sections to have freemovement, the rim-sections B secured to the divergent ends of the saidbeams A, the ends of the several sections being pivotally connected, anda series of teeth mounted on the said rim-sections substantially as setforth.

In a harrow, a central support composed of the U shaped arms D radiatingfrom a central point, a series of harrow-seotions lying in said arms andcomposed of the arms A A and the rim sections B connected as set forth,bolts for holding the said sections within the arms, the holes in thearms and sections being larger than the bolts whereby the sections aregiven free movement as described and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROLAND 'RAKESTRAVV. \Vitnesses:

JOHN W. WALTERS,

S. RAKESTRAW.

